The thermal bugs in these 144 superinsulated houses were much the same as in any housing stock. So what have we learned?

FINDING the FLAWS
in SUPERINSULATION
Figure 1. A chaseway for furnace and water-heater flues. The fiberglass batt used to
block opening is streaked with dirt from leaking air.
Figure 2. The top of a partition viewed from the attic of a split-level house. Note that
there's no blocking atop the wall-a problem in every split-level in the study.
The thermal bugs in
these 144 superinsulated
houses were much the
same as in any housing
stock. So what have we
learned?
In 1980, 144 low-energy houses were
built in Minnesota as part of a demonstration
project called the Energy Efficient
Housing Design (EEHD) program.
Twenty-three builders participated in
the program, and built from two to
twelve houses each. The